In April 2010 the government introduced the Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) scheme. Under the scheme, anyone generating energy through solar panels can receive payments for that energy, whether the panels are installed on a domestic or commercial property.
The income from Solar Panels comes in three elements:
- The Feed-in-Tariffs (FITs) – around 55% of your solar generated income
Generation Feed-In-Tariffs (FITs) are paid to you for every unit you produce regardless of whether you use it or not (15.44p / unit produced for under 4 kWp), an amount which is index linked and guaranteed by the UK Government for 20 years.
- Savings you make by generating your own electricity – around 40%
You benefit from using the solar electricity you generate and therefore not having to ‘buy’ that amount of electricity from your supplier (worth between 11-24p / unit depending on your current supplier).
- Value of the electricity you export back to the grid – around 5%
Your electricity supplier must buy from you 50% of the solar electricity you generate for 4.5p / unit for 20 years (which is also guaranteed).
The FITs the government currently offers to anyone installing photovoltaic (PV) panels mean that anyone with a south facing (or even east or west) can effectively get a rate of 10-15% return on their investment!
Current FIT Rates:
| Up to 4 kWp | 15.44 pence per unit* (possibly 17.44p subject to conditions **) |
| From 4 kWp to 10 kWp | 13.99 pence per unit* |
| From 10 kWp to 50 kWp | 13.03 pence per unit* |
| From 50 kWp to 250 kWp | 11.5 pence per unit* |
Please note: For new (not existing) installations, FITs rates are reviewed by the government quarterley (1st of Jan/Apr/Jul/Oct) To avoid any rush nearer the deadline, get in touch now.
*These higher rates are payable assuming your home achieves an Energy Performance Certificate rating of A-D
** Utility Warehouse is a supplier of electricity, gas, land-line telephones, mobile phones and broadband. For the past four years it has consistently come top of ‘Which Reports’ as the best supplier of all these utilities.
In addition to providing highly competitive utility prices, Utility Warehouse also offers an addition of 2p FIT to their ‘Gold’ customers for their first two years of membership.
There are many more savings and benefits to be derived from using Utility Warehouse. Steve Munday, M.D. of SMC Solar Ltd is an authorised distributor of Utility Warehouse and will be pleased to provide any more information either at the time of your solar installation, or separately regardless of whether you purchase solar PV from SMC.